Two people died this weekend in the Pittsburgh area participating in biking events.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05163/520390.stm
In this one a 77 year old participating in the "Senior Olympics"---
"(Cyclist)... struck a gate and fell as he exited a practice area near the lake." If these are the "gates" that I am thinking of, they are fixed and protrude into the roadway and have been the cause of other cyclist injuries. They are non-swinging gates made of 3" pipe, that protrude into the roadway. Road signes are attatched to them about 3 feet from the end. As I recall they are painted brown. It is the kind of obstical that you will miss if you look away for a moment, then bang-- your shoulder is gone.
Allegheny County maintains this park and should take a close look at how these "gates" could be changed to better accomodate cyclists.
http://www.wisr680.com/index.php?sid=400153672&t=news_detail&id=11145
This person was participating in the MS 150, saw a car, put on his brakes, and slid in front of the car. My guess is that gravel on the road played a role in this accident.
drumbum
06-13-05, 08:43 AM
Yeah, I was with a marshal at the racecourse when we saw the ambulance flying in the opposite direction...kinda scary.
kf5nd
06-13-05, 09:16 AM
On our local MS150 here, the biggest in the country, we see cyclists riding six abreast, ignoring even the double-yellow line.
Yeah, so I'm not surprised this fellow rounded a curve and found a car coming right at him... I'm betting he too the curve too fast, left his own lane, and *BANG*.
These MS150 rides are an absolute menace, safety-wise.
orthoclase
06-14-05, 03:16 PM
On our local MS150 here, the biggest in the country, we see cyclists riding six abreast, ignoring even the double-yellow line.
Yeah, so I'm not surprised this fellow rounded a curve and found a car coming right at him... I'm betting he too the curve too fast, left his own lane, and *BANG*.
These MS150 rides are an absolute menace, safety-wise.
I'll cut-and-paste a reply I posted in another forum, to help clear the confusion:
I came upon the scene of the accident several minutes after it happened. We had to get off our bikes and walk them around the scene. Mr. Andrews was lying in the roadway being attended to by EMTs. The scene of the accident was near the bottom of a not-particularly steep hill, on a curve. The roadway was slightly wet, probably from an earlier passing shower. But not rooster-tail wet, if you know what I mean, more like really damp. The reports states that Mr. Andrews probably overshot the curve, saw the car, tried to brake and instead lost control and slid into the car. I don't believe the driver of the car was charged (nor should he have been, if this report is accurate). They were also treating a girl, Courtney Scott, for severe abrasion caused by her crashing into Mr. Andrews's bike after it went down. She was treated and released at Butler Memorial Hospital. I also heard that they Life-Flighted Mr. Andrews, but he went into full cardiac arrest en route. I didn't see the car at the scene (some people said that they thought he fled, but the absence of charges seems to contradict that), but I was more focused on moving through and making sure I didn't interfere with the rescue attempts.
I think it's important to note that this accident was not "the fault of" MS 150. This could have happened on anyone's daily ride. As much as we like to beat on cagers, I am convinced (based upon the reports) that this was a cyclist mistake. And I don't believe it was due to inexperience, as this gentleman was riding with the FedEx team. A sad event, and as more people on the ride became aware of it, the more somber the ride became. There were 3 masses held for Mr. Andrews at our overnight stop in Meadville, PA.
Because this was my first MS 150, I mapped the route on my topo program so I would know what to expect in terms of topography, and I drove/cycled part of the route to get familiar with it. I would recommend anyone undertaking a tour like this for the first time to recon the route first, to understand the safety concerns as well as the physical challenges.
Overall, I was very impressed with the number of volunteers and their friendliness, the amount of liquid and power refreshments, and the number of porta-potties. All routes were well marked and traffic was halted at stop signs and major intersections, or we were at least waved through on an all-clear.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Andrews family, as I hope yours are, too.
webist
06-14-05, 04:22 PM
My thoughts and prayers are with the Andrews family, as I hope yours are, too.